Business

Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s difficult first year at Manchester United – but should the Glazers take more blame?

Published

5 months ago

February 20, 2025

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What happens when you put a boyhood fan in charge of their club?

They discover it’s not so simple to run after all. And the fans you sat with many years ago are as impatient as ever.

Anger reverberates exactly a year since Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS organisation gained day-to-day control of football operations at Manchester United.

Fans are furious about ticket price rises.

A charity helping former players has had funding slashed.

And rank-and-file staff – many loyal for years without Premier League salaries – have been swept out with 250 redundancies and warnings of more to come.

Sir Jim has taken the unpopular – but he would argue necessary – decisions to put the club on a healthier financial footing all while INEOS injected an additional £80m.

The Glazers

Being the face of cost-cutting and eradicating excesses can be reputationally damaging while the American family, still with the majority ownership, drift even deeper into the shadows.

The Glazers are blamed for the malaise and the debt burdened on a club that is one of the biggest money-makers in world football.

Just this week, United’s financial update to the New York Stock Exchange revealed they are set to make more than £650m this season.

But it also showed that the debt has climbed over £730m and has now cost more than £1bn to service in the last two decades.

Money has drained out of the club – to the Glazers – rather than, perhaps, being invested in Old Trafford upgrades or a new stadium as rivals have built glitzier, more lucrative venues.

Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone confronted executive co-chairman Avram Glazer over what has been a difficult year for the Red Devils.

When asked whether he would sell up the American businessman said: “No.”

He remained silent when asked if he was worried Sir Jim had made things worse, and also didn’t respond when asked if the Glazers should be facing more blame – as opposed to Sir Jim.

The British businessman bought a 27.7% stake in the club in February last year and took control of sporting operations. He later increased it to 29% but the Glazers remain majority owners of the club.

Floundering on and off the pitch

INEOS are now playing catch-up, trying to accelerate much-needed infrastructure upgrades, particularly at the training ground, which saw the women’s team temporarily pushed out.

But United have not been short of cash to spend on players, for the men’s team.

They have the highest net spend of any English club since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 at over £1.2bn – but without being able to add to the 13th Premier League titles he won.

In the summer and winter transfer windows, INEOS oversaw the arrival of £200m worth of new talent for the men’s team.

And yet the team is in its worst shape ever in the Premier League.

They’ve never been this low during a season – down in 15th place with 12 defeats in 25 matches.

This against the backdrop of decisions that can be viewed as bungled or quickly acknowledging mistakes.

Erik ten Hag was kept on as men’s team manager in the summer after aborting a firing plan following their FA Cup win.

But he went anyway in October – a change that cost £21m when you factor in Ruben Amorim’s release fee from Lisbon club Sporting.

It wasn’t the only hefty compensation bill.

Their pick for sporting director – Dan Ashworth – cost around £2m to prize away from Newcastle United.

But then he was ditched after just five months which, we discovered yesterday in new accounts, cost another £4m.

Fan fury

No wonder the supporters’ trust who protested against the Glazers are now aghast at “mismanagement” by the new leadership while still loading much blame on the Florida-based family.

And this while they are being asked to pay more to attend matches in fading facilities.

“Fans should not pay the price for a problem that starts with our crippling debt interest payments and is exacerbated by a decade or more of mismanagement,” the United Supporters’ Trust said.

“It’s time to freeze ticket prices and allow everyone – players, management, owners and fans – to get behind United and restore this club to where it belongs.”

INEOS – the petrochemicals giant that turned Sir Jim into a billionaire – has a lot of convincing to show they’re on the right path heading into year two at United.

And there could be the pain to come of seeing Liverpool match their record haul of 20 English titles.

Can INEOS rebuild a team and oversee the building of a new stadium without losing sight of the mission – to restore United’s greatness?

And the Glazers remain as tight-lipped as ever – but now flush with an extra £1.25bn from selling 29% to Sir Jim as he takes the heat.

Business

Microsoft is now worth over $4 trn, becoming only second firm ever to pass milestone

Published

10 hours ago

July 31, 2025

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Microsoft has become only the second publicly traded company after Nvidia to surpass $4 trn (£3.03trn) in market valuation, after registering huge earnings.

On Thursday, shares rose on Wall Street with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbing to new record highs.

Stocks in Microsoft jumped after posting better-than-expected results, helped by its Azure cloud computing platform, which is a centrepiece of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) efforts.

Shares in Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, also surged after beating sales and profit targets.

Technology giants Apple and Amazon will report their results after Wall Street’s close.

Microsoft first cracked the $1trn (£760bn) mark in April 2019, but its move to $3trn (£2.27trn) took longer than technology giants Nvidia and Apple.

Nvidia tripled its value in just about a year and clinched the $4trn milestone before any other company on 9 July. Apple was last valued at $3.12trn.

In comparison, the biggest UK company by market value is drug manufacturer AstraZeneca, worth $235.97bn (£178.55bn).

Companies ranked by market value (USD), according to tradingview.com

1. Nvidia (US) $4.43trn
2. Microsoft (US) $4trn
3. Apple (US) $3.12trn
4. Amazon (US) $2.47trn
5. Alphabet (US) $2.35trn
6. Meta (US) $1.95trn
7. Saudi Arabian Oil (Saudi Arabia) $1.56trn
8. Broadcom (US) $1.42trn
9. Berkshire Hathaway (US) $1.03trn
10. Tesla (US) $1.02trn
11. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Taiwan) $1trn
29. Samsung Electronics (South Korea) $338.06bn
36. Alibaba (China) $284.62bn
52. AstraZeneca (UK) $235.97bn

While sweeping US tariffs had investors worried about tighter business spending, Microsoft’s strong earnings have shown that the company’s books are yet to take a hit.

Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar bet on OpenAI is proving to be a game changer, powering its Office Suite and Azure offerings with cutting-edge AI and fueling the stock to more than double its value since ChatGPT’s late-2022 debut.

On Wednesday, the firm announced Azure sales surpassed $75bn (£56bn) on an annual basis, while Azure revenue jumped 39% in the April-June quarter.

Overall revenue rose 18% to $76.4bn (£57.81bn) over the same period.

It is also forecasting a record $30bn (£22.7bn) in capital spending over the first quarter to meet soaring AI demand..

Business

Christmas food price shock looms, chancellor warned

Published

1 day ago

July 31, 2025

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Christmas food price shock looms, chancellor warned

Food inflation will rise to 6% by the end of the year – posing a “significant challenge” to household budgets in the run-up to Christmas, industry leaders have predicted.

The British Retail Consortium is warning that the chancellor risks “fanning the flames of inflation” if she hikes taxes in the coming budget.

Despite intense price competition between supermarket chains, the BRC has sounded the alarm over the pace of grocery price hikes.

As of this month, food inflation has risen 4% year on year – its highest level since February 2024.

The BRC said this increase is linked to global factors, such as high demand and crop struggles.

Beef, chicken and tea prices are among those that have risen the most this year – but some of the blame is being laid squarely at the chancellor’s door too.

The BRC said it was inevitable that a £7bn burden, through changes to employers’ national insurance contributions and minimum pay rules after last October’s budget, had been partly passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.

It published the results of a survey of retail industry finance chiefs to illustrate its point – that nerves about what Ms Reeves’s second budget could bring were not helping companies invest in either new employment or prices.

Business was promised it would be spared additional pain after it was put on the hook for the bulk of the chancellor’s tax-raising measures last year.

However, speculation is now rife over who will feel the pain this autumn as she juggles a deterioration in the public finances.

A widening black hole is estimated at around £20bn.

The cost of servicing government debt has risen since the last budget, while U-turns on welfare reforms and winter fuel payment cuts have made her job even harder – making further tax-raising measures inevitable.

The survey of chief financial officers for the BRC showed the biggest current fear ahead was for the “tax and regulatory burden”.

Two-thirds of the CFOs predicted further price rises in the coming year, at a time when the headline rate inflation already remains stuck way above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

It currently stands at 3.6%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retail was squarely in the firing line of the last budget, with the industry hit by £7bn in new costs and taxes.

“Retailers have done everything they can to shield their customers from higher costs, but given their slim margins and the rising cost of employing staff, price rises were inevitable.

“The consequences are now being felt by households as many struggle to cope with the rising cost of their weekly shop.

“It is up to the chancellor to decide whether to fan the flames of inflation, or to support the everyday economy by backing the high street and the local jobs they provide.”

She concluded: “Retail accounts for 5% of the economy yet currently pays 7.4% of business taxes and a whopping 21% of all business rates.

“It is vital the upcoming reforms offer a meaningful reduction in retailers’ rates bill, and ensures no store pays more as a result of the changes.”

The Treasury has been approached for comment.

Business

US Federal Reserve defies calls from Donald Trump to cut interest rate

Published

1 day ago

July 30, 2025

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US Federal Reserve defies calls from Donald Trump to cut interest rate

The Federal Reserve has defied calls from US President Donald Trump for a cut to the interest rate by leaving it unchanged.

The decision means it has an effective rate of 4.3%, where it has remained after the central bank, known as the Fed, reduced it three times last year.

“We’re keeping the rates high, and it’s hurting people from buying houses,” Mr Trump told reporters. “All because of the Fed.”

Money latest: Three major broadband firms hike prices

Mr Trump has repeatedly been asked whether he would fire Fed chair Jerome Powell if he failed to heed his demand to cut the rate.

In June, the US president labelled Mr Powell a “stupid person” after the Fed decided not to change rates. Then less than two weeks later, in a further attack, he said the Fed’s chair should “ashamed” and would “love” him to resign.

The US president has spent months verbally attacking Mr Powell.

There were clear tensions between the pair last Thursday as they toured the Federal Reserve in Washington DC, which is undergoing renovations.

When taking questions, Mr Trump said: “I’d love him to lower interest rates,” then laughed and slapped Powell’s arm.

The US president also challenged him, in front of reporters, about an alleged overspend on the renovations and produced paperwork to prove his point. Mr Powell shook his head as Trump made the claim.

When Mr Trump was asked what he would do as a real estate mogul if this happened to one of his projects, he said he’d fire his project manager – seemingly in reference to Mr Powell.

Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range to guide lenders rather than a single percentage.

The Fed has expressed concern about the impact of Mr Trump’s signature economic policy of implementing new tariffs, taxes on imports to the US.

On Wednesday, the president said he was still negotiating with India on trade after announcing the US will impose a 25% tariff on goods imported from the country from Friday.

Mr Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday implementing an additional 40% tariff on Brazil, bringing the total tariff amount to 50%, excluding certain products, including oil and precious metals.

The committee which sets rates voted 9 to 2 to keep the benchmark rate steady, the two dissenters were appointees of President Trump who believe monetary policy is too tight.

In a policy statement to explain their decision, the Federal Reserve said that “uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated” but growth “moderated in the first half of the year,” possibly bolstering the case to lower rates at a future meeting.

Nathan Thooft, chief investment officer at Manulife Investment Management, described the rate decision as a “kind of a nothing burger” and it was “widely expected”.

Tony Welch, chief investment officer at SignatureFD, agreed that it was “broadly as expected”. He added: “That explains why you’re not seeing a lot of movement in the market right now because there’s nothing that’s surprising.”